The battlefield was silent for only a breath before Ryu tilted his head, watching Alistair with that same amused smirk.
"She fought well, you know."
His voice was almost casual, as if he were discussing a match between friends rather than the elimination of Alistair's twin sister.
"Silver hair. Green eyes. A mix of Nature and Lunar magic… much like you."
His katana gleamed under the arena's dim light, the crimson glow of his demonic aura casting long shadows around him.
"But in the end—" Ryu lifted a single finger, mocking the weight of his next words.
"She was too slow."
Alistair's fingers twitched around his sword hilt.
Not from anger. Not from shock.
But from something deeper.
Something cold.
His expression did not change.
His eyes did not waver.
But within, something shifted.
The air around him darkened.
Ryu noticed.
And then—
Alistair vanished.
One moment, Alistair was standing across the battlefield.
The next, his abyssal-coated blade was already swinging toward Ryu's throat.
Voidstep.
A teleportation that did not require casting.
There was no delay. No warning.
Just pure instant movement.
Ryu barely reacted in time.
His katana flashed upward in a desperate parry—
CLANG!
The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward, kicking up dust and debris.
Ryu was forced back.
It was the first time in the fight that he was the one retreating.
Alistair didn't let up.
His sword flickered through the air in precise, deadly arcs, each strike laced with abyssal energy that threatened to consume all in its path.
And he was faster.
Stronger.
More relentless.
His blade danced with an unstoppable rhythm, a symphony of destruction.
Ryu was keeping up—but barely.
The balance of power shifted.
Ryu clicked his tongue.
Fine.
If Alistair was using his true power, then he would respond in kind.
"Let's see if you can follow this—"
His body blurred.
[Ghost Fang.]
A phantom slash lashed out, moving in a direction opposite of his sword swing.
An illusionary feint.
Alistair dodged—but Ryu was already gone.
[ Phantom step.]
His figure split into afterimages, making it impossible to track his real position.
But Alistair's eyes were sharp.
He did not rely on sight alone.
His Perception was B-Rank.
He saw the fluctuations in mana, felt the subtle distortions in the air—
And his sword struck without hesitation.
CLANG!
Another clash.
But this time—
Ryu was the one with a grin on his face.
Because he wasn't aiming for Alistair.
His telekinesis lashed out, yanking a corpses from the battlefield straight toward Alistair's blind spot.
A perfect distraction.
And in that instant—
Ryu vanished.
[Flickering Phantom.]
A movement technique that allowed him to shift positions without sound or presence.
Alistair barely turned in time—
[Bloodmoon Execution.]
Ryu's katana glowed with blood-red flames as it carved through the air, aimed straight at Alistair's back.
It would sever his spine if it landed.
But Alistair was already moving.
Alistair didn't dodge.
Instead—he turned to meet the attack head-on.
His Black Hunger Flames roared to life, coating his abyssal tendrils as they burst from his back in a wall of pure darkness.
The two flames clashed—
Red against Black.
Blood against Abyss.
The arena shook.
The two forces repelled each other in an explosion of crackling mana.
But something was different.
Alistair narrowed his eyes.
His Black Hunger Flames—
They were being pushed back.
Struggling.
Ryu's Heavenly Demon's Wrath was resisting the abyssal flames, its blood-red inferno surging with newfound power.
He was getting stronger.
Ryu grinned, his crimson eyes gleaming in the firelight.
"Good… good!"
He reversed his grip on his katana, pointing it at Alistair with a predatory smirk.
"You're finally fighting seriously. But let's see how far you can go—"
He lunged forward.
And the battle—
Escalated even further.
****
Observation Room ---
Observation Room was filled with an air of silent intensity. High above the simulated battlefield, the instructors and professors gathered, watching the virtual combat unfold on massive holographic screens. The VR Arena projected every clash, every motion, every drop of blood with near-perfect realism.
The battle between Alistair Vaelthorne and Xian Ryu had escalated beyond what any of them expected.
Two monsters were colliding.
Alistair's black abyssal flames and Ryu's blood-red demonic aura clashed violently, creating shockwaves that distorted the air. Their movements blurred—mere afterimages flickering across the battlefield—while the remaining students had already perished, their bodies fading from the simulation one by one.
The battle had boiled down to two.
The room remained eerily quiet as the professors analyzed the fight. Even the most experienced warriors couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Then, a sultry, amused voice broke the silence.
"Was this really necessary?" Lady Selena Loventis, the enchantress of desire, leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs gracefully. Her mesmerizing golden eyes flickered toward Lucian Valtrix, the Trickster Sage.
The silver-haired illusionist chuckled, resting his chin on his palm. "Come now, Selena. Don't pretend you're not enjoying this."
She arched a brow. "Enjoying? More like... watching a disaster in the making."
Lucian's grin widened. "Disaster? No, no. This is entertainment. You were curious about that boy Ryu, weren't you? A nameless talent rising from nowhere? Or did you just want to see how he would fare against the 'strongest first-year student'?"
At that, the room fell silent again.
A few instructors exchanged glances, reluctant to admit the truth.
Even they wanted to see it.
The match wasn't just a test. It was a declaration.
One of them—either Alistair Vaelthorne or Xian Ryu—would walk away proving their dominance.
And so far… the battle was nothing short of terrifying.
****
"Where the hell did this boy come from?"
A gruff voice muttered, belonging to Professor Darius Stonefist, the academy's unbreakable guardian. The massive dwarf crossed his arms, eyes locked onto the screen displaying the two fighters.
One moment, they were clashing swords.
The next, they vanished in a blur.
The storm of battle exploded across the arena.
Each movement carried deadly precision—not a single wasted step.
Alistair's swordsmanship was flawless, honed to perfection. Even without using his full abilities, his blade strikes were refined, efficient, and devastating. His abyssal energy coiled around him like a living shadow, lashing out whenever Ryu tried to take control.
But Ryu—he was relentless.
His speed, boosted by wind magic and telekinesis, allowed him to match Alistair's agility despite being two sub-ranks lower.
More than that, he was growing.
Every clash pushed him further. Every exchange refined his movements.
Most staff present had only one thing in mind "are they really students."
"Alistair was already a monster…" Instructor Gareth Silvers muttered, his sharp, analytical mind piecing together the situation. "But now, there's another."
*****
The battle continued at an unthinkable pace.
Ryu vanished, his body flickering in and out of existence as he executed Flickering Phantom, a movement technique that made him seem like a shifting illusion. His katana, now glowing with an ominous crimson light, danced through the air in a mesmerizing display of lethality.
Alistair remained calm.
He wasn't just reacting. He was predicting.
He could tell—Ryu was preparing something.
Then, it came.
Hells Waltz erupted once again—a storm of chaotic, unpredictable slashes, faster than before, shredding through Alistair's defenses.
Alistair countered with abyssal tendrils, forming a dome of defense covered in blood magic. The moment his tendrils retracted—Ryu disappeared.
"Shit."
Alistair's instincts screamed.
He twisted his body just in time to see Ryu above him—his katana raised for the final execution.
"One Slash. One Kill."
The moment Ryu swung down, the air itself split apart. The attack was so fast, space distorted for a fraction of a second. A perfect, lethal execution strike.
The blade sliced cleanly through Alistair's chest.
Blood splattered onto the ground.
For a moment, the entire Observation Room fell silent.
Lucian smirked. "Well. Looks like it's over—"
Then—
SCHLICK.
A sword pierced through Ryu's back.
His eyes widened.
His body stiffened.
His victory smile froze.
He slowly turned his head.
Standing right behind him—unscathed—was Alistair Vaelthorne.
The blade lodged in Ryu's heart pulsed with abyssal energy.
"What—?"
Ryu's body trembled. He looked down at the Alistair he had just killed—only for the corpse to disperse into crimson mist.
A clone.
A trap.
Alistair had switched places with a Crimson Phantom Clone at the last moment.
Ryu's lips parted, but no words came.
Blood trickled down his chin.
Alistair exhaled, voice calm. "Checkmate."
With a single, final motion, he twisted the blade.
SLASH.
The simulation collapsed.
Ryu's body vanished, his digital avatar erased from the battlefield. The VR battle ended.
Alistair stood alone.
Victorious.
****
"Now we know who is stronger."
Back in the Observation Room, silence reigned.
Lucian Valtrix broke the tension, his voice laced with amusement.
"Well, that settles that." He grinned, eyes flickering with intrigue. "The winner is obvious, isn't it?"
Some instructors remained expressionless.
Others—like Selena Loventis—merely sighed. "That boy is dangerous."
Professor Darius grunted, but his sharp gaze never left the screen. "Alistair's already a monster. But this… he's evolving, adapting with every battle."
Instructor Gareth shook his head. "And Ryu? His speed and skills are unnatural.
And are we gonna ignore his phycho behaviour?"
Others ignored his last remark.
Lucian's smirk deepened.
"This year is going to be fun."
Ding!
[God of pranks and tricks LOKI agree on his avatars words]
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